The 14th BizBash, presented by CoBiz Financial, was a huge hit, so much so that it’s probably safe to say that the only hearts that headliner Pat Benatar broke were ones belonging to the folks who couldn’t score a ticket to the event held at Denver’s Fillmore Auditorium.

Rosemarie Allen, executive director of the Colorado Parent and Child Foundation. (Steve Peterson, Special to The Denver Post)

Just how much that will be is not yet known, but as BizBash spokeswoman Marcia Sandoval explains:

“It’ll take another another month or so, until the final figures are made public, but BizBash 2014 will not disappoint.”

Since 2001, Sandoval adds, “Income from the one-night event has totaled $3.6 million for charities in Colorado and Arizona. Our donations to the beneficiaries have ranged from $47,000 to $308,000.”

And it’s not to early to nominate a favorite nonprofit for 2015. Applications, which can be made online, will be accepted through July 1.

Christie Ziegler, director of communications for Colorado UpLift. (Steve Peterson, Special to The Denver Post)

As she often is, Benatar was joined by her husband, Neil “Spyder” Giraldo, for a back-in-the-day, 1980s-style concert that included all of their greatest hits. Songs like “Hit Me with Your Best Shot,” “Love is a Battlefield,” “In the Heat of the Night” and, of course, “Heartbreaker.”

The 1,150 guests arrived early to enjoy the food, silent auction bidding and photo booth fun that preceded the concert.

CoBiz Financial’s chief executive, Steve Bangert, was there to welcome a crowd that included Erin Henninger, senior director of the University of Colorado Hospital Foundation, with colleagues Chris Comer (director of special events) and Megan Terry (annual giving); Jim Guttau and Jolinda Cohavi from the Four Seasons Hotel Denver; Barbara Brooks of Brooks Marketing Group; Kris Barta; Tim Sward; Drew Kallestad and John Roble.

The 64 sponsors included Advent Software, Holland & Hart, University of Colorado Health, Land Title, Crowe Horwath, Richard and LouAnn Dalton and the Boedecker Foundation.

Kristina and Marco Campos, left, with Robert and Megan Sawaya. (Steve Peterson, Special to The Denver Post)

Barbara Ferguson, second from left, and Anne McGonagle with the members of Forte: Fernando Varela, left, Sean Panikkar and Josh Page. (Steve Peterson, Special to The Denver Post)

Any opera worth its salt is filled with drama, excitement and plenty of twists and turns. Much like the story of how a musical group called Forte came to be.

Forte is made up of three tenors who met on the Internet several weeks before auditions for Season 8 of “America’s Got Talent” were held. Fernando Varela of Puerto Rico, Hana Ryu from South Korea and Josh Page, who lived in New York, kept in touch via Skype and met face-to-face just days before appearing together as Forte and winning the judges’ approval to move on to the next round of competition in Las Vegas.

Ryu had issues with his visa and had to drop out before appearing with his colleagues in Vegas, and was replaced by Sean Panikkar, an American of Sri Lankan descent.

Forte made it all the way to the finals, finishing fourth in the contest ultimately won by dancer Kenichi Ebina.

The event also celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Central City Opera Guild, and its founding president, Barbara Ferguson. Tribute also was paid to the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation for its longstanding sponsorship of the opera company.

Barbara Ferguson, left, and Anne McGonagle with the cake honoring the opera guild’s 40th anniversary. (Steve Peterson, Special to The Denver Post)

The gala began with cocktails and a Discover the Dreams auction. Items up for bid were described as once-in-a-lifetime experiences and ran the gamut from Ganjapreneurs: A Unique and Educational Look Inside the Marijuana Industry to Tequila Sunset, a gourmet barbecue and Zach Heckendorf concert at a private home in Cherry Hills Village.

Joy and Chris Dinsdale. (Steve Peterson, Special to The Denver Post)

McGonagle and her committee encouraged guests to dress in “creative black-tie” and stay late to enjoy cocktails and dancing at an after-party hosted by The Scene, the company’s young professionals support group.

Girl of the Year Natalie Borrego with Woman of the Year candidates Stacey Donaldson, left, Hannah Rice, Stephanie Mercer, Stephanie Estes and Naomi Binkley. (Heather Leider, Special to The Denver Post)

A 10-week fundraising campaign to determine who will be crowned Woman of the Year and Man of the Year by Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is at the halfway point, and it’s looking like their goal of raising $400,000 will be met.

“In 2013, our 13 candidates raised an unprecedented $363,000,” says the chapter’s executive director, Rebecca Russell. “I’m confident that the 14 we have this year will beat that.”

The winners will be announced at a Grand Finale Gala to be held May 17 at the Marriott City Center. The titles go to the man and woman raising the most money. Each dollar raised counts as one vote.

Denver residents hoping to become Woman of the Year are Naomi Binkley, founder and managing partner of Fireside Production; Stephanie Mercer, who is with Inleit Properties; Stephanie Estes; and Aiello Public Relations & Marketing chief Wendy Aiello. Hannah Rice, a high school student from Castle Rock, is vying for the title, too, as is former CBS4 meterologist Stacey Donaldson, who is now an agent with RE/MAX Alliance in Westminster.

The Boy and Girl of the Year — Charlie Hooper and Natalie Borrego — have already been crowned. They are both 7 years old and in remission from Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL).

Charlie Hooper was diagnosed just after his third birthday. The doctors thought he had a fractured fibula and put him in a cast. When it was removed, they realized his leg was worse, not better. After a complete blood workup, they found blast cells in his blood and diagnosed him with ALL.

In 2011, Natalie developed little bruises all over her body, so her parents took her to the emergency room to see what was wrong. The doctors checked her blood, took her temperature and told her parents that she had cancer; she was diagnosed with ALL.

“Charlie and Natalie are an inspiration to all of us and serve as representatives of the many children in Colorado affected by blood cancer,” says Russell.

Last year, the Rocky Mountain chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society conducted 17 different education programs for blood cancer patients and their caregivers in the metro Denver area. The chapter also connected 192 newly diagnosed blood cancer patients to trained blood cancer survivors, providing one-to-one peer support for them. The chapter also sponsors monthly support groups.

For more information about the Man & Woman of the Year campaign, to purchase tickets to the Grand Finale Gala or to support the candidates’ efforts, visit the event website or call Caitlin Selby, 720-440-8629.

Boy of the Year Charlie Hooper with Man of the Year candidates Mark Dietz, back row left, Martin Baca, Jason Epstein and Josh Davies. Middle row: Steve Hicks, left, and Hugo Leon. (Heather Leider, Special to The Denver Post)

Paulette C. Walker, the national president and chief executive officer of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, was the special guest when the Denver Alumnae Chapter celebrated the 75th anniversary of its founding at a luncheon held at the Renaissance Denver Hotel.

Walker, the 25th person to hold the national presidency, affiliated with Delta Sigma Theta in 1966 when she was initiated into Michigan State University’s Epsilon Epsilon Chapter. Her career was spent in the field of education; she retired in 2011 as director of undergraduate programs and internships at the University of South Florida’s College of Education.

Her keynote speech to the Denver Deltas reflected the event’s theme, “A Legacy of Love: Bridging Sisterhood and Service.”

Jennifer Dodd belongs to the Delta Sigma Theta chapter in Colorado Springs. (David Zalubowski, Special to The Denver Post)

The celebration was chaired by Catherine Wright, marketing manager of the Colorado-Wyoming District of the U.S.Postal Service, and Linda Bates Leali, a retired administrator in the Denver Public Schools. Dr. Djuana Harvell, a biomedical research scientist at the University of Colorado Denver, focusing on pediatrics and infectious disease, is the Denver chapter president.

The sorority’s Central Region director, Billie Coachman, also was a special guest, as was Wilma Webb, an honorary member of Delta Sigma Theta, and state Reps. Rhonda Fields and Angela Williams.

Wilma Webb, a former Colorado state legislator, was accompanied by her husband, former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb, and daughter, Stephanie O’Malley, Denver’s manager of safety.

National president Paulette C. Walker meets former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb. (David Zalubowski, Special to The Denver Post)

The public service sorority, founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 13, 1913, has approximately 250,000 members in over 900 chapters throughout the world.

In 2013, Delta Sigma Theta celebrated its centennial year by recommitting to its focus on educational development, economic development, political awareness and involvement, physical and mental health, international awareness and involvement.

In June, Denver will be the host city for Delta Sigma Theta’s 46th annual regional conference.

The laces on his glossy black dress shoes were also red. And very thick. Morris had cut them off of combat boots because they were the only red ones he could find, and he wanted to wear red laces. (“I need to do that punk rock trick,” Morris said, “where you put a lighter to the ends, so I can close them off.”)

Nothing about Matthew Morris, his south Broadway salon, or the parties he throws are without epic attention to some very boss details.

The red shoe laces. The gift bags. The fog machine. The seating arrangements by poker card. The Epernay Lounge sushi station that sat atop a Matthew Morris ice sculpture. The giant diesel-punk Baroque limo parked right in the middle of the runway, inside the salon.

A Cigars & Tater Tots party on the patio will feature gourmet comfort food from the new Tots Truck and stogies from Cigars on Sixth, winner of Westword’s Best Cigar Bar of 2013.

The Pink Wedding Party begins at 10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 4, at Tracks, 3500 Walnut St., Denver. Part of the Pink Wedding Party donations and a portion of the First Friday cover charge ($5 from 6 to 9 p.m., $7 after 9 p.m.) will be donated to One Colorado, which is conducting a cross-state campaign on marriage equality.

The gathering was intimate; hostess Judi Wolf extended invitations only to immediate family and, in Seawell’s case, the top executives and board of directors of the DCPA.

Red rose centerpieces in the Denver Country Club ballroom. (Joanne Davidson, The Denver Post)

“Can you think of anything more appropriate than sharing Colorado Day with two men who have so significantly changed the face of our community?” she asked. “These are men who have fought many battles — and won the majority of them.”

Even at the ripe old age of 101, Wolf added, “Donald is so alert and filled with such passion about what is yet to come down the pike.”

Retired DCPA president Lester Ward and his wife, Rosalind, had their ideas about the secret to Seawell’s longevity.

“Good genes, definitely,” Rosalind said. “And fine wine, which he has probably been drinking for at least 90 years.”

Lester Ward agreed, but added that Seawell’s propensity for “making life exciting” also had something to do with it. “Don never held back. Whenever somethng new came along, he wanted to learn all about it.”

Following dinner, Leonard Barrett, a member of Phamaly, Denver’s highly respected troupe of differently abled performers, entertained guests with a medley of Broadway show tunes.

Whatever it was, the 2013 Fine Arts Foundation Debutante Ball had a magical quality to it. As it should have, considering the countless hours that chairwoman Murri Bishop, co-chair Lynn Wong and dozens of volunteers put into bringing the theme — A Jeweled Garden — to life and making the ball a night to remember for the 25 debutantes and their families.

Madeleine Bernstein and her father, John Bernstein. (David Zalubowski, Special to The Denver Post)

The presentation began with the traditional Grand March, where the ball principals — debutantes, their fathers and escorts, members of the receiving line, the Citizen of the Arts and the tiara mistresses — enter the ceremony space and take their respective places.

Then, master of ceremonies John Tatlock begins the introductions. Once the last deb is presented and the father-daughter waltzing concluded, guests adjourned to a festively decorated tent for dinner and dancing.

The Bal de Ballet debutantes as they are presented on stage at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House. (Steve Peterson, Special to The Denver Post)

When Denver Ballet Guild introduced 39 debutantes and 26 Young Men of Distinction to society at the 2013 Le Bal de Ballet, it was the continuation of a tradition started 45 years ago and the end of another that had lasted nearly two decades.

Dr. Toby Cole, who had introduced the honorees for 16 years, was letting friends know that this was his last year at the microphone. For the past several years, Cole, retired executive medical director for Kaiser Permanente Colorado, had been saying he wanted to turn the job over to someone else; apparently, he finally succeeded. Although a successor was not announced.

Debbie Raeder chaired Le Bal de Ballet 2013; Hillary Adams was the co-chair and Ellen Bywaters was the honorary chairwoman. The theme was Secret Garden.

After their presentation at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House, the honorees rode horse-drawn carriages to the Sheraton Denver Downtown for dinner served at tables decorated with hot pink, lavender and emerald green topiaries created for the occasion by Newberry Brothers. The evening concluded with dancing to the Jerry Barnett Orchestra.

Once Breanna Batts learned she was one of the lucky 20 selected for the Owl Club of Denver’s debutante Class of 2013, she couldn’t wait to share the good news with the four female members of her family who’d been debutantes in years past.

“They told me I was going to have fun and that it would be a life-changing experience,” she said. “They were right.”

Batts, a graduate of East High School, where she was active in the clubs No Place For Hate and Angels Against Abuse, curtsied at the Owl Club’s 62nd Debutante Ball held June 1 at the Marriott City Center.

The daughter of Delia Grant and Michael Grant, Batts will be attending Community College of Denver. She’s holding off a bit on declaring a major because “there are so many good things (from which to choose) and I want to be sure I pick the right one.”